Udupi:A rare black panther, was caught by the forest department at Kadoor near Kokkarne in Brahmavar here on Wednesday.

The panther had entered a bath enclosure of Kamala Shedthi’s house at around 2 am. It tried to attack a two month old puppy but it managed to escape its grasp.

Sheena Marakala, a worker heard sounds and spotted the panther.He informed his neighbour who is a panchayat member and then locked the bath house.

However Neelavar forest officials successfully caught the panther on Wednesday morning and it was lured into a metal cage.The animal was later released into Kudremukh national park.